Check out more photos from ASU basketball games in this slideshow.
The ASU men’s basketball team showed a noticeable improvement Friday at Wells Fargo Arena, despite falling to New Mexico 76-71.The Sun Devils (1-2) hung with the Lobos (2-1), the preseason favorites to win the Mountain West, throughout the game. The game was tied 14 times and ASU had a chance to add one more in the final minute.
Down 74-71 with 16 seconds left, junior guard Trent Lockett missed a good look at a corner three-point attempt near the ASU bench.
“That was a shot I wanted, I was waiting for it but it just didn’t fall,” Lockett said. “It felt good but off to the right.”
The shot was just one of many opportunities missed by the Sun Devils.
In what has become a familiar issue early in the season, ASU committed 19 turnovers. In three games, the Sun Devils average 18.7 turnovers a game. Junior guard Chris Colvin had six, sophomore guard Keala King and Locket had four each.
“The quantity and the timing of them make it really difficult on our basketball team,” coach Herb Sendek said. “It leaves us very little room for error against a good team like New Mexico.”
Sendek said aside for some possible lapses, his team played with good energy and effort.
But arguably the turning point in the game happened during one of those lapses.
New Mexico senior forward A.J. Hardeman made a nice hustle play to keep a bad entry pass in the post inbounds. He tossed it back in play just as it crept towards the baseline. Surrounded by four ASU players, the ball took two bounces in the paint and landed in the hands of senior forward Drew Gordon. The possession led to an open three-pointer by sophomore guard Tony Snell to extend the lead 68-62 with 4:25 left.
After two missed free throws by Colvin, The Lobos tacked on another three points from Snell on the next possession in the same spot near New Mexico’s bench.
“We talked about that with our team postgame,” Sendek said of the sequence. “Those kinds of things unfortunately are the margin of difference and tonight not in our favor.”
Gordon and sophomore guard Kendall Williams were not in the Lobos’ starting lineup, and both were selected to the Mountain West Preseason All-Conference team. The two still led New Mexico in points and rebounds.
Williams had 16 points and seven rebounds while Gordon picked up 13 points and nine rebounds, a drastically improved stat line from their combined 0-for-13 performance during Wednesday’s loss to New Mexico State.
While the Lobos’ stars shined, Lockett had a quiet first half for the Sun Devils, 0-for-3 from the field with four points. He ended the game with 11 points and four rebounds.
“They did a great job, but also I just had to be a little bit more aggressive in picking my spots,” Lockett said.
Junior forward Carrick Felix stepped up in one of his best performances as a Sun Devil. He finished with 20 points —15 coming in the first half — including a 3-for-4 night from behind the arc. Felix was actively attacking to the rim with and without the ball. Three of his seven rebounds were offensive and Felix went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.
“He had some good looks and he’s really, as you can see, improved his shooting,” Sendek said. “He’s an outstanding free throw shooter and really just keeps getting better and better.”
The Sun Devils have almost a week to prepare for the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. on Thursday. ASU will play Fairfield in its first match on Thanksgiving, then either Dayton or Wake Forest on Friday.
“I feel like we played together very well in this game,” Felix said. “I felt like we all came together really good. It’s just a lot of little mistakes that we’ve got to make up in practice and continue to get better. We’re going to have adversities, we’re going to have ups-and-downs, and this is the time where we build and come together even more.”
Reach the reporter at master.tesfatsion@asu.edu Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
